Deck 13: Tectonics, earthquakes, and Volcanism

Question 1

To which does the concept of "orders of relief" refer?

A)The ordering of surface features based on height.
B)The ordering of surface features based on their time of origin.
C)The classification of landscapes based on scale.
D)The rate at which stress is relieved in the crust.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which refers to the vertical elevation differences in a local landscape?

A)Relief.
B)An order of relief.
C)Topography.
D)Crust.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The six types of topographic regions are defined based on which of the following?

A)Arbitrary elevation and other descriptive criteria in common use.
B)Complex statistical analyses of surface relief variation across the surface of Earth.
C)Local criteria that have never been universally recognized.
D)Logarithmic relationships applied to elevation.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What is the average elevation of ocean depth?

A)-2070 m.
B)-3800 m.
C)100 m.
D)875 m.

Question 5

Which of the following is an example of the tools scientists use to study topography?

A)LiDAR,radar,and GPS.
B)Radar,GPS,and tiltmeter.
C)GPS,tiltmeter,LiDAR.
D)Tiltmeter,LiDAR,and radar.

Question 6

Which is defined as the general term for the undulations and other variations in the shape of the surface of Earth?

A)Topography.
B)Relief.
C)Geomorphology.
D)Terrain.

Question 7

The most detailed order of relief applies to which order relief features?

A)First
B)Second
C)Third

Question 8

Which of the following is an example of a third order of relief?

A)The Alps.
B)The South American Plate.
C)Irazú Volcano.
D)The Tibetan Plateau.

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of a second order of relief?

A)The North American plate.
B)Pike's Peak.
C)The Canadian and American Rockies.
D)Mt.Capulin.

Question 10

Africa is dominated by which topographic region?

A)Plains.
B)Mountains.
C)Hills and low tablelands.
D)High tablelands.

Question 11

Which is the measurement of land elevation relative to sea level?

A)Bathymetry.
B)Hypsometry.
C)Topography.
D)Geodesy.

Question 12

What is the vertical relief of Earth (highest point to lowest point),approximately?

A)5 km.
B)10 km.
C)20 km.
D)30 km.

Question 13

Which is considered a topographic region that is characterized by local relief of more than 100m,but less than 600m?

A)Plain.
B)High tableland.
C)Hill or low tableland.
D)Mountain.

Question 14

Which is considered a topographic region that is characterized by local relief of more than 600m?

A)Low tableland.
B)High tableland.
C)Mountain.
D)Depression.

Question 15

Approximately what percentage of Earth's surface is exposed above sea level?

A)18 percent.
B)29 percent.
C)49 percent.
D)62 percent.

Question 16

Which provides the highest resolution for mapping Earth's surface?

A)LiDAR.
B)Radar.
C)GPS.
D)Passive remote sensing platforms,such as Landsat 8.

Question 17

What is the average elevation of the exposed land?

A)-3800 m.
B)875 m.
C)-2070 m.
D)100 m.

Question 18

Which is a hypsographic curve?

A)A graph that shows the change in temperature with depth below the surface of a continent.
B)A graph that shows the change in temperature with depth below the surface of the ocean floor.
C)A generalized curve showing Earth's surface by area and elevation in relation to sea level.
D)A graph that shows Earth is of relatively high relief.

Question 19

Which is considered a topographic region that is characterized by local relief of less than 100m?

A)Plain.
B)High tableland.
C)Hill or low tableland.
D)Depression.

Question 20

Which of the following is an example of a first order of relief?

A)The Alps and Rockies.
B)The Tibetan Plateau.
C)The Shenandoah Valley.
D)North America plate.

Question 21

Most cratons date to which geologic time?

A)Precambrian eon.
B)Paleozoic era.
C)Devonian period.
D)Paleocene epoch.

Question 22

Which of the following properly describes the formation of continental crust?

A)All continental crust was formed millions of years ago.There is no active continental crust being formed.
B)The formation of continental crust is independent of the formation of oceanic crust,involving only volcanism over the land masses.
C)The formation of continental crust involves the entire sequence of seafloor spreading,subduction,remelting of oceanic crust,and subsequent rise of the remelted material.
D)New continental crust is formed essentially in the same many as oceanic crust - from upwelling at mid-continental ridges.

Question 23

The general term used to describes subducted oceanic crusts that incorporates seawater and sediments is which of the following?

A)Sial.
B)Sima.
C)Batholiths.
D)Melt.

Question 24

Large portions of North and South America,Asia,and Australia are dominated by which topographic region?

A)Plains.
B)Basins.
C)Widely space mountains.
D)High tablelands.

Question 25

Which best describes a continental craton?

A)The product of active folding and faulting.
B)The surface accumulation of molten rock.
C)The inactive remains of ancient tectonic activity.
D)A landform undergoing constant tectonic activity.

Question 26

Considering crustal deformation,which of the following is correctly matched?

A)Tension - reverse fault.
B)Compression - lateral twisting.
C)Tension - stretching or faulting.
D)Shearing - stretching or faulting.

Question 27

If you wanted to avoid earthquakes,which of the following areas would be the safest to live?

A)Convergent plate boundary.
B)Divergent plate boundary.
C)Island arc along a subduction zone.
D)Shield.

Question 28

The horizontal line that defines the portion of the anticline or syncline with the maximum curvature is known as which of the following?

A)Valley.
B)Hinge.
C)Trough.
D)Basin.

Question 29

Folded layers of rock can form a wavelike pattern of troughs and crests.Which do layers near the trough (i.e.downward fold)form?

A)A syncline.
B)A tension zone.
C)An anticline.
D)A thrust fault.

Question 30

Consider terranes.Which of the following is correct?

A)They are larger-scale migrating crustal pieces; i.e.,microplates.
B)They may accrete onto continents and thereby increase the size of the continents.
C)They are framed by suture zones.
D)They are unable to move from their place of origin.

Question 31

Large areas of depressions are found in which continent?

A)North America.
B)Asia.
C)Australia.
D)Antarctica.

Question 32

The Zagros Mountains of Iran is an example of which of the following?

A)A series of faulted mountain blocks.
B)A zone of tension.
C)A zone of shearing motions.
D)A zone of compression and folding.

Question 33

Folded layers of rock can form a wavelike pattern of troughs and crests.Which do the layers near the crest (i.e.the upward fold)form?

A)A syncline.
B)A tension zone.
C)An anticline.
D)A thrust fault.

Question 34

Which is the nucleus of old crystalline rock in each of the principal continental masses?

A)Basalt mass.
B)Continental shield,or craton.
C)Mountain mass or plateau.
D)Composite zone.

Question 35

How is strain,the amount of deformation undergone by an object,expressed?

A)Metamorphism.
B)Breaking and removal.
C)Folding or faulting.
D)Bending.

Question 36

Which of the following refers to terranes?

A)The topography of a tract of land.
B)Subducted oceanic crust that is melted and later reaches the surface in volcanic eruptions or cools in the subsurface as an intrusive body.
C)Fragmented crustal material from one plate and accreted to another plate.
D)A large region where a craton is exposed at the surface.

Question 37

From what does the variety of surface features on Earth result?

A)Tectonic processes.
B)Gravity processes.
C)Endogenic and exogenic processes.
D)Latent heat exchange processes.

Question 38

Which refers to Wrangellia terranes?

A)A former volcanic island arc that migrated 10 000 km to its present location along the western margin of North America.
B)A terrane in southern Tibet that migrated to the region during the Palezoic from Australia.
C)A mountain range that became part of the Himalayas.
D)Pieces of crust that moved with the Pacific plate to their present location near Japan.

Question 39

Large areas of high tablelands are found in which continent?

A)Africa.
B)Australia.
C)Greenland.
D)Central Asia.

Question 40

In which locations are high mountains consisting of tightly folded and overthrust sedimentary rock layers,as well as metamorphic rocks,formed?

A)Along midocean ridges during seafloor spreading activity and are subsequently uplifted above sea level in response to isostatic processes.
B)During plate collisions.
C)During volcanic eruptions.
D)In continental rift zones.

Question 41

Which of the following lists the terms that apply to upward-faulted blocks followed by the term that applies to downward-faulted blocks?

A)Horst; graben.
B)Graben; horst.
C)Normal; thrust.
D)Thrust; normal.

Question 42

When lateral shear causes horizontal movement along a fault plane,which is the resulting fault?

A)Lateral fault.
B)Thrust fault.
C)Normal fault.
D)Strike-slip fault.

Question 43

Which occurs when the fault plane forms a low angle relative to the horizontal,resulting in the overlying block being shifted over the underlying?

A)Lateral fault.
B)Thrust fault.
C)Normal fault.
D)Strike-slip fault.

Question 44

The relatively young mountains along the western margins of the North and South American plates are referred to as which of the following?

A)Cordilleran system.
B)Eurasian-Himalayan system.
C)Alleghany orogeny.
D)Sierra Nevadan orogeny.

Question 45

To which does the term orogenesis refer?

A)The beginning of extensive faulting.
B)A general term for a mountain-building episode that thickens continental crust.
C)A general thinning of the crust.
D)The formation of mountains without faulting,folding,or the capture of migrating terranes.

Question 46

People often incorrectly say that California is going to "fall into the ocean,".For this to occur,the San Andreas Fault would have to be which type of fault associated with which forces?

A)Normal; tension.
B)Normal; compression.
C)Reverse; tension.
D)Reverse; compression.

Question 47

Which type of fault is the San Andreas system in California an example?

A)Strike-slip fault and reverse fault.
B)Transform fault and thrust fault.
C)Thrust fault and reverse fault.
D)Strike-slip and transform fault.

Question 48

Tensional stress along a fault can result in a dropped hanging-wall block relative to the footwall side.Which produces this?

A)Reverse fault.
B)Thrust fault.
C)Normal fault.
D)Strike-slip fault.

Question 49

With which are normal faults associated?

A)Tensional forces.
B)Compressional forces.
C)Plate convergence.
D)Transcurrent forces.

Question 50

Which is an example of compressional stress along a fault resulting in rocks moving upward along the fault plane?

A)Reverse fault.
B)Lateral fault.
C)Normal fault.
D)Strike-slip fault.

Question 51

Which lists the faulting and forces respectively that result in the Basin and Range Province in the western United States?

A)Reverse; tensional.
B)Reverse; compressional.
C)Normal; tensional.
D)Normal; compressional.

Question 52

Which of the following shows the general sequence of an orogeny?

A)Thickening of crust through accretion or magma intrusion-uplift-weathering and/or erosion.
B)Uplift-thickening of crust through accretion or magma intrusion-weathering and/or erosion.
C)Weathering and/or erosion-uplift-thickening of crust through accretion or magma intrusion.
D)Thickening of crust through accretion or magma intrusion-weathering and/or erosion-uplift.

Question 53

Which define fault types?

A)The tilt and orientation of the fault plane.
B)The amount of movement along the fault plane.
C)The amount of energy liberated during movement.
D)The type of rock material in which they occur.

Question 54

A large region identifiable by several topographic or geological traits is known as which of the following?

A)Topographic region.
B)Ecoregion.
C)Physiographic province.
D)Biome.

Question 55

Warping produces bends in rocks.How do these compare to those produced by folding?

A)Larger than those produced by folding.
B)Smaller than those produced by folding.
C)The same size as those produced by folding.

Question 56

Which of the following is a cause of warping?

A)Gravity.
B)Thermal conductivity and solar radiation.
C)Geomorphic adjustment.
D)Mantle convection,hot spots,and isostatic adjustment.

Question 57

When rock strata are strained beyond their ability to remain an intact unit,displacement occurs.Which is this process?

A)Folding.
B)Faulting.
C)Broad warping.
D)Stressing.

Question 58

Which is an exposed fault plane with significant vertical extent?

A)A fracture zone.
B)An escarpment.
C)Dome.
D)Anticline.

Question 59

If one were to stack thick fabric on top of one another,and then push the opposite ends towards one another,resulting and bending and rumpling,this would illustrate what physical process?

A)Faulting.
B)Folding.
C)Shear.
D)Tension.

Question 60

What does the presence of grabens and horsts indicate?

A)Volcanic activity.
B)Rift activity.
C)Collision activity.
D)Strike-slip activity.

Question 61

Which best describes an earthquake?

A)The point within Earth where seismic waves originate.
B)The sharp release of energy in Earth's crust that creates seismic waves.
C)The amount of ground displacement along a fault.
D)The amount of stress rocks along plate boundaries experience.

Question 62

What type of convergent boundary associated with orogeny is illustrated here?

A)Oceanic plate-continental plate collision.
B)Oceanic plate-oceanic plate collision.
C)Continental-plate-continental plate collision.

Question 63

Which is the study of plate boundaries and the frequency of past earthquakes in order to forecast earthquakes?

A)Dilatancy.
B)Paleoseismology.
C)Perceptual studies.
D)Geodesy.

Question 64

What type of convergent boundary associated with orogeny is illustrated here?

A)Oceanic plate-continental plate collision.
B)Oceanic plate-oceanic plate collision.
C)Continental-plate-continental plate collision.

Question 65

The area at the surface directly above the subsurface location where seismic waves are initiated is termed which of the following?

A)Epicentre.
B)Fault area.
C)Richter zone.
D)Focus,or hypocentre.

Question 66

An earthquake that occurs in association with anthropogenic activity,such as waste water injection wells,is known as which of the following?

A)Tectonic seismicity.
B)Induced seismicity.
C)A tectonic earthquake.
D)An earthquake.(There is no special name for such an implausible event.)

Question 67

To which area does a seismic gap refer?

A)One that is overdue for an earthquake,based on past earthquake frequency.
B)One that has significant surface fracturing due to fault movement.
C)One that has had tectonic plates separate,leaving large cracks in the surface.
D)One that is lacking seismometers or other measuring devices.

Question 68

Which of the following is correct regarding the moment magnitude scale-a scale which quantifies the amount of energy released by an earthquake?

A)It is a scale of magnitude based on arithmetical progressions (1,2,3,4,etc.).
B)It is a closed scale that begins at 0.0 and ends at 10.0.
C)It considers the amount of fault slippage produced by the earthquake,the size of the surface (and subsurface)area that ruptured,and the nature of the materials that faulted.
D)It is the same as the Mercalli scale.

Question 69

Which of the following is used to rate an earthquake on the moment magnitude scale?

A)The amount of fault slippage that occurred.
B)The density of the subsurface or surface area that ruptured.
C)The amount of death and destruction that occurred.
D)The volume of water in the materials affected by the quake.

Question 70

Which resulted in the formation of the Innuitian Mountains?

A)Laramide orogeny
B)Alleghany orogeny
C)Cordilleran orogeny
D)Ellesmerian orogeny.

Question 71

Which is an instrument used to record vibrations in the crust?

A)Land barometer.
B)Seismometer.
C)The Richter scale.
D)Tiltmeter.

Question 72

Small surface irregularities along a fault plane that prevent movement and are generally areas of high strain are known as which of the following?

A)Asperities.
B)Focal points.
C)Elastic spots.
D)Fore points.

Question 73

The energy released by a magnitude 8 quake on the Richter scale is how many times greater than that of a magnitude 6 quake?

A)3)15.
B)31.5.
C)63.
D)992.
E)31 255.

Question 74

What type of convergent boundary associated with orogeny is illustrated here?

A)Oceanic plate-continental plate collision.
B)Oceanic plate-oceanic plate collision.
C)Continental-plate-continental plate collision.

Question 75

Which is the subsurface area where the motion of seismic waves is initiated along the fault plane?

A)Epicentre.
B)Fault area.
C)Richter zone.
D)Focus,or hypocentre.

Question 76

Which is the slight increase in rock volume produced by small cracks that form under stress and accumulated strain?

A)Dilatancy.
B)Paleoseismology.
C)Seismic gaps.
D)Geodesy.

Question 77

What is the expected number of an M 8.0 or Mercalli XII earthquakes per year?

A)120.
B)800.
C)1)
D)13 000.

Question 78

The phrase "considerable-to-serious damage to buildings" would be used in which scale?

A)Richter.
B)Modified Mercalli Intensity.
C)Beaufort.
D)Moh's.

Question 79

Which resulted in the formation of the Appalachians?

A)Laramide orogeny.
B)Alleghany orogeny.
C)Cordilleran orogeny.
D)Alpine orogeny.

Question 80

What is the expected number of an M 5-5.9 or Mercalli V-VII earthquakes per year?

A)1)
B)1319.
C)134.
D)13 000.